“What about cameras?” Emmett sat back in his chair, resting his elbows on the padded arm rests. “I’m assuming the building has them?”
“They do, but that’s where things really start to get interesting.” A spark of intrigue lit up the man’s blue gaze. “Gaining access to the building’s cameras was much harder than it should have been for your typical commercial housing system. My interest was piqued even more when, after I finally got in, I discovered that the sixth-floor cameras appear to have . . .malfunctioned. . . the night Janie was there.”
Blake’s use of air quotes, along with the unexpected news in the Weaver woman’s building security, sent Emmett’s brows inward with a quick spike in his pulse.
“You mean, like a glitch?”
“That’s one way to put it.” The other man’s playful expression grew serious as he sat up straighter. His strong features hardened slightly as he shared this next part. “Forty-seven minutes before Janie was supposed to meet the Weaver woman at her apartment, someone hacked into the sixth-floor feed, uploaded a previous recording of that same hallway…empty…and then ran that recording on a constant loop.”
His pulse spiked with a kick of his heart. “So if someone from building security happened to check the feed at any point during that time, all they’d see would be?—”
“A quiet, empty hallway.” Blake nodded. “And the only reason someone would go through that much trouble would be to gain access to the floor without any proof that they were there.”
Son of a?—
“Janie was right.” Emmett met his teammate’s stare.
“There’s more.” Blake’s tone was solemn. “The Weaver woman had a separate security setup inside her apartment. High-end, expensive, and hard as hell to penetrate.”
“But not impossible?”
“Not if the person hacking into it knows what they’re doing.”
Despite the seriousness of their discussion, Emmett felt his lips curve into a slight grin. “Like you?”
“Me and whoever disabled the system three-and-a-half minutes after the loop of the hallway began.”
Three-and-a-half minutes?
The grin instantly fell. Blake was right. The red flags on this case were already flying damn high.
“First, the hallway feed is looped, and minutes later, Amy Weaver’s personal system goes completely dark?” Emmett blew out a breath. “No way that’s a coincidence.”
“My thoughts, exactly.”
A moment of silence passed between them before Emmett asked the brilliant man, “What’s your take on what happened?”
“Hard to say. I mean, there’s still so much we don’t know.” Blake leaned forward to rest his forearms on his knees, linking his fingers loosely together. “But do I think someone gained access to a White House intern’s apartment for the sole purpose of cleaning it spotless, the way Janie described? No.” He shook his head from side-to-side firmly. “I don’t.”
Smartass.
“You said whoever did this is smart.” Emmett frowned. “And meticulous, from the sounds of it. So why not shut the door behind them when they left?”
“Maybe they got interrupted,” Blake guessed. “Or things could’ve taken longer than expected. Plus, if the person or persons responsible also somehow knew about Amy’s planned meeting with Janie, they would’ve known they were on a limited timeframe.”
The room grew quiet as the two men mulled over the possibilities regarding Amy Weaver’s disappearance. As of now, they were virtually endless, which in turn, made their job that much harder.
“How would they get her out of the building without anyone noticing?”
“They hacked into building security,” Blake started, working through the steps as if he had first-hand knowledge. “Once that feed was on loop, they broke in without leaving so much as a mark before immediately disabling her personal system. Next, they moved in on their target, either killing the Weaver woman right away or rendering her unconscious. Once she was subdued, they either shoved her body into a large duffel bag or had some other means of removing her that didn’t cause suspicion. From there, they accessed the service elevator. The one solely used by the super and other building employees. They took her to a vehicle that was parked in the alley out back, andpoof.” He settled back in the chair. “Just like that, she’s gone.”
“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”
“I am.” A low smirk lifted one corner of Blake’s mouth.
“Why?”
“Easy.” The other man shrugged. “It’s how I would do it.”
